Creating opportunities from uncertainty: navigating industrial emergence

Industrial Symposium: 24th and 25th September 2009, Downing College, Cambridge, UK

Case studies

Case Study 1: Emerging technology-based industry

Speaker: Dr Andrew Flewitt, Electrical Engineering Division, Cambridge University

Speaker: Richard Guy, Senior Technology Acceleration Manager, The Carbon Trust

Science and technology has and will continue to provide a foundation for generating economic and societal value. As the complexity, pace and globalisation of technology developments increase, the challenges of turning technological breakthroughs into substantial and sustainable businesses ventures increase. This case study session will include examples of how organisations are tackling these challenges, emphasising the management of technology at earlier stages of the development cycle.

Case Study 2: Investing in emerging industries

Speaker: David Connell, TTP Capital Partners / University of Cambridge Centre for Business Research.

Speaker:Dr Chris Moore, PERA.

Funding the commercialisation of advanced technology where there is no clearly defined existing industry infrastructure is particularly challenging. Two case studies will present the challenges from the perspective of (1) an organisation seeking to bring an advanced technology to market (2) an organisation seeking to capture value through investing in the commercialisation of advanced technologies.

Case study 3: Navigating an uncertain policy and regulatory environment

Speaker: James Lawford Davies, Clifford Chance LLP

Speaker: Dr Patrick Ginty, Healthcare Engineering, Loughborough University.

A supportive policy and regulatory environment, which provides an acceptable degree of clarity and predictability for economic operators, represents a significant driver to foster the growth of emerging industries. However, some firms are created and operate in an area for which policy vision may be unclear and regulation may be lacking or in development. How do these firms navigate such uncertainties? How can they make the most of them? This case study session will draw on the experiences of firms in the specific field of regenerative medicine to discuss how an uncertain policy and regulatory environment can be dealt with.

Case study 3: Navigating a start-up in uncertainty

Speaker: Dr John Prichard, Smart Holograms

Speaker: Dr Andrew Lynn, OrthoMimetics

Early in their business lifecycles, start-up companies often face challenges caused by both foreseeable and unforeseeable uncertainties. When operating in such an environment, simple mistakes may significantly impact the survival of the firm. In this session, two start-up founders will share their experiences on how they tackle these challenges and discuss how they navigate their companies in uncertainty.